Updating Your Home Security

Clothing Retailer? Proactive Measures To Increase Security During The Busy Holiday Shopping Season

As a clothing retailer, you already know that annual holiday sales are an important component in the success of your business, but this increase in customer traffic also creates an increased risk of losses from theft. In addition to shoplifting, unscrupulous employees often take advantage of a store's increased activity level to disguise their attempts to steal cash or merchandise. If you are a retailer who would like to reduce the incidences of theft your store incurs this holiday season, the following strategies can help. 

Evaluate Hiring Practices for Temporary Help

Retail store owners can no longer afford to forego screening when hiring new employees, especially temporary ones who will be working during the hectic holiday season. In addition to standard hiring practices, make sure that you ask for references from past employers and take the time to verify them thoroughly before hiring.

Institute Policies that Help to Thwart Employee Theft

Most incidences of employee theft are thought to be based on opportunity. To decrease this type of opportunity, retailers should consider implementing some or all of the following measures in their store: 

• Adding controlled access points for employees to enter and leave the store, including an identification system, such as key cards, to track this activity
• Installing and mandating the use of lockers for employees to store bags, purses, outerwear, cell phones and other gear while at work
• Adding security cameras at key points, including cash registers, employee lockers, controlled access points, areas that have high risk merchandise and dedicated employee break and parking areas
• Instituting and maintaining an accurate system to track inventory and flag any discrepancies each day
• Requiring cashiers to log deposits hourly or whenever specific amounts of cash have been taken in

Invest in Professional Security Guards and Loss Prevention Specialists

Investing in one or more professional security guards is one of the best ways for clothing retailers to combat both employee theft and shoplifting in their establishment. If the store is large, such as a department store, using a security team that includes uniformed security guards at customer entry points, as well as one or more roving, plain clothes security guards or loss prevention specialists is a great way to watch for illegal activity.

In fact, a professionally trained security guard can often detect visual and behavioral clues thieves exhibit when planning to steal from a business, such as:

• Customers or employees who appear nervous in the presence of a security guard or management member
• Customers who browse repeatedly, sometimes during several visits to the store, but never seem to make a purchase
• Customers or employees who spend excessive amounts of time in areas of the store that are obscured from the view of the guards or the security cameras
• Customers who spend a great deal of time tracking the movements of the security guards and store personnel

If you would like even more information about protecting your retail clothing store from all types of theft during this busy holiday shopping season, consider consulting a reputable security company in your area and ask them to help you evaluate your business for risk and formulate a plan to address it. To find out more, speak with a business like Star Protection Agency LLC.